Lillian Bonsignore Named FDNY Commissioner by Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani

Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani will appoint former EMS chief Lillian Bonsignore to lead the New York City Fire Department, making her the second woman and the first uniformed woman to serve as FDNY commissioner.

Bonsignore, a Bronx native who began her EMT career in 1991 as a single mother, is coming out of retirement to step into the top role. She previously served as chief of the department’s Emergency Medical Services bureau, a position she assumed in 2019. During her tenure, she led the city’s EMS through the unprecedented challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Bonsignore’s calm, decisive leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic – when EMS professionals were more vital than ever – is exactly the kind of leadership our city needs in moments of uncertainty,” Mamdani said in a statement shared with City & State ahead of the official announcement.

Bonsignore’s appointment highlights a shift toward recognizing the essential role EMS workers play in public safety, as well as the chronic pay disparities they face compared to police officers and firefighters. Her leadership is expected to underscore the administration’s commitment to addressing long-standing issues related to EMS pay. EMTs and paramedics in New York City earn salaries significantly lower than their first responder counterparts, a key factor in ongoing staffing shortages and increased pressure on response times.

Stepping down in 2022, Bonsignore returns to public service after more than three decades in the department, rising through the ranks after her start in 1991. She became a lieutenant in 2002, captain in 2005, and deputy chief by 2009. She was deployed to the World Trade Center from Fort Totten, Queens, on September 11, 2001, and went on to serve as deputy assistant chief responsible for EMS training, overseeing the certification of more than 13,000 EMTs.

Her ascent through a traditionally male-dominated department culminated in her appointment as the first woman to lead EMS in 2019. During that time, she guided the bureau through one of the most demanding periods in its history.

Mayor-elect Mamdani plans to formally announce her appointment Tuesday at Fort Totten, the same site from which she was deployed during 9/11. The decision also signals continuity and stability in the transitional city leadership, with Mamdani confirming that Javier Lojan will remain interim commissioner of the Department of Sanitation and Zachary Iscol will continue as interim commissioner of New York City Emergency Management as winter preparations continue.

Bonsignore’s appointment draws favorable comparisons to her predecessor Laura Kavanagh, appointed by former Mayor Eric Adams in 2022 as the FDNY’s first female commissioner. Kavanagh, who resigned in 2024, was not a uniformed firefighter or EMT, but had worked in the FDNY for years in civilian leadership roles.

“It’s complicated to be a woman in power. … It’s especially more complicated when you’re first,” Kavanagh told City & State upon her resignation. Reached by phone Tuesday, she praised Bonsignore’s selection: “One of the strongest leaders I have ever worked alongside. Nobody knows the FDNY and what the department means to our city better than Chief Bonsignore. I saw firsthand Chief Bonsignore’s lifelong dedication to the FDNY, including her work on the front lines of COVID and in advocating for a long-overdue EMS pay raises.”

Bonsignore has often been recognized for breaking barriers in her career, but in a 2019 interview with the Daily News, she put it matter-of-factly: “It’s kind of odd that the thing I get celebrated for the most – people are always like, ‘Wow, you’re a woman and you’re gay’ – are the two things I put the least work into.”

The appointment comes at a critical time for the FDNY’s EMS division, which has lost workers amid persistent struggles over pay parity. Former Commissioner Robert Tucker, who stepped down Friday, recently warned in the New York Post that staffing shortages and slower emergency response times will worsen if pay issues for EMS workers are not addressed. “If it stays on this path, FDNY EMS faces a future of worsening staffing shortages and slowing response times,” he wrote.

Bonsignore's return to lead the department suggests a new chapter for FDNY, one shaped by her long experience in emergency medicine, her leadership in crisis, and her determination to elevate those who serve on the city's front lines.